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Considering Edible Plants grown in water (pond, paddy)
Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2009 8:06 pm
by applestar
I just bought some lotus seeds (a Russian variety and not a native, unfortunately, but I got excited when I saw them offered, and didn't want to take the time to look around
)
Looking around for instructions on how to grow them, I came across this one at https://www.floridata.com/ref/N/nelu_lut.cfm : "pack a seed in a wad of clay and toss into the pond"
This idea appeals to me, so I'm going to toss 2 or 3 lotus seedballs in my new earth-bottom pond. I'll also grow a few seeds indoors over the winter as a back up.
Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2009 10:06 pm
by applestar
Looking into Lotus and lotus roots/tubers led me to checking into Water Chestnuts. It turns out that they are grown in a shallow paddy -- hey I have one... actually TWO! of those. So now I'm noodling this possibility for next year if I decide not to grow rice OR maybe do both. Only problem is that Water Chestnuts need a 7 mo. growing season, so I'll have to start 'em inside WAY early. But I'm pretty sure I've seen fresh water chestnut corms at the Korean supermarket.
I think I'll have to revise the thread topic.
Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2010 8:39 pm
by applestar
My lotus seeds sprouted while I wasn't looking!
They've been looking like just so many pebbles in the bottom of the 2L bottle since 2/9 I forgot to look at them for a few days, and they've been quietly sprouting.
Tomorrow's challenge is going to be decanting them from the the bottle, I may just cut it open to be safe. One of them has a 2-inch shoot on it already, three others (I think) have 1/4"~1/2" sprouts.
I'm SOOO excited!
Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2010 9:54 pm
by Ozark Lady
Lotus?
This is food? Or flower?
Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2010 9:59 pm
by Toil
Ozark Lady wrote:Lotus?
This is food? Or flower?
both I think!
We eat the roots quite a bit. Very tasty in stir fry or as vinegar pickles.
I once heard that there are native relatives that can be eaten for survival. Not sure if they are good.
water chestnuts - I think I remember hearing they are invasive. oh yeah- I saw it listed on a sign by a lake. make sure you check that out first.
Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2010 10:39 pm
by applestar
Yep, we're going to eat the roots! Flowers are gorgeous and fragrant and (are supposed to) attracts the night-flying nectarers like giant moths, and is called a "sacred flower" by ancient cultures.
I can't find my notes! :panic: but Water Chestnuts is subtropical and won't survive our winter, so let it be as invasive as it wants during the growing season!
Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2010 10:52 pm
by Toil
well I saw that posted in new hampshire, so heads up.
Edit: ok, I figured it out. This is from a canadian government source:
Trapa natans, The European Water Chestnut
To avoid confusion, growers looking into Chinese water chestnut as a commercial crop should be aware that there is an invasive, weedy wetland plant commonly known as water chestnut, Trapa natans, that has become naturalized in parts of the Eastern U.S.
T. natans, often called water chestnut or European water chestnut in the U.S., belongs to the Trapaceae family (which happens to be a monogeneric or single genus family). In contrast to the Chinese water chestnut which is harvested for its corm, the harvestable portion of T. natans is the seed or fruitóthus the common name of Singhara Nut in India and the Ling Nut in other parts of Asia. In India, Singhara Nut is considered a minor crop, and is sometimes only harvested as survival food under severe conditions.
T. natans was introduced to North America from Eurasia around 1874, and has since become a serious aquatic weed in much of the eastern U.S. and Canada. T. natans is a prohibited or restricted aquatic plant in states like South Carolina and Florida. It is illegal to import or distribute or even transport this plant through these states.
See Further Resources below for websites with more information on T. Natans, as well as background information on invasive wetland plants.
Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2010 11:19 pm
by applestar
Hey toil, thanks! You just ID'd a mystery seed pod we found during a nature walk last year. I was intrigued because these seed pods looked similar to/reminded me of shark/skate egg casings we sometimes come across down the shore (NJ speak for "beach"
).
Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2010 11:52 pm
by Toil
I spent a few summers at a friend's beach place in brigantine. I know the shore well.
Hey, you are welcome. I love it when that happens!
Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 12:10 am
by The Helpful Gardener
[url=https://www.ecy.wa.gov/Programs/wq/plants/native/cattail.html]Cattail is a native food source[/url]par excellence in many different stages of growth, and a native habitat plant of note. I never see redwing blackbirds without them nearby somewhere when I kayak.
And they would guild nicely with [url=https://plants.usda.gov/factsheet/pdf/fs_sala2.pdf]duck potato[/url], a survival food that was cropped by indigenous tribes. Our [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelumbo_lutea]native lotus[/url]would fit into this crew too, although it can be a bit rambunctious... but just as edible as it's Asian cousin and just a bit deeper than the duck potato.
Cattail at the margin, duck potato at 6-12" and the
Nelumbo lutea at 12-18" Kayaking will be difficult, but there is a lot of food there...
HG
Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2010 4:23 pm
by !potatoes!
^nice. I was thinking cattails, too, from the title.
Posted: Sun Jul 18, 2010 1:05 pm
by lorax
If your pond has circulation, you can also grow the dwarf bananas (like Dwarf Cavendish and Dwarf Red) as flooded-root aquatics. They do better as riparians, and fruit faster than in-ground plants. Especially if you have fish in your pond. To overwinter, just bring the flood pots into the house and keep 'em wet.
Other food crops that do well with flooded roots include Taro and Eddoe (Colocasia esculenta and C. gigantea, respectively.)
Posted: Sun Jul 18, 2010 2:16 pm
by soil
watercress from a pure healthy body of water is absolutely delicious and very easy to grow.
Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 10:48 am
by !potatoes!
a couple other options I've been thinking about lately:
arrowhead - delicious tubers, quite hardy plants, and grown in a little paddy like you're talking, they couldn't spread too far.
water spinach - technically a pretty invasive one in warmer climes, but can't handle freezing (could bring cuttings inside for the winter to keep them going)...vigorous greens, though. I'm considering building a little raft to sow some into next spring.
Re: Considering Edible Plants grown in water (pond, paddy)
Posted: Sun May 22, 2016 7:25 am
by applestar
Just bumping this, because I want to read it again later.
Re: Considering Edible Plants grown in water (pond, paddy)
Posted: Sun May 22, 2016 7:54 am
by rainbowgardener
One of the parks we go to with the dog has a lot of arrowhead growing wild on the creek bed edges. I didn't realize until I looked it up, that arrowhead is the same as duck potato. It was an important food source for Native Americans and is a native plant in most of the country. That same creek farther down has a bunch of lotus. American lotus is native in the eastern half of the country.
If/ when I eventually get a pond installed, I may come and steal some of these ....